Corrective education can also be divided into broad sense and narrow sense.
Corrective education in a broad sense is a compensatory educational measure for people with poor learning and behavior, general deviant or illegal criminals. Its educational content includes not only the acquisition of scientific knowledge and vocational skills, but also the social adaptability and problem-solving ability necessary for complex social life, as well as the correction of the lack or deviation of teenagers' ability, and the correction or correction of wrong ideas, subjective malignancy, psychological obstacles, bad habits and criminal behaviors of ordinary deviants and criminals. Therefore, in a broad sense, it can include social correction education, correction education in ordinary schools, correction education in reform schools, and education reform and correction education in prisons, detention centers, labor camps, detention centers and community correction centers.
Corrective education in a broad sense originated from China's compulsory education methods and related thoughts. In ancient times, it was unacceptable to indoctrinate teenagers with socially recognized moral concepts and change people's animal habits. Compulsory measures must be implemented in the education process. According to some historical records, compulsory education began in Shun Di. "Shangshu" Shun Dian: "Pujiao Punishment". The word "slapping" here means beating with a special wooden stick. At that time, the instructor was also the person who executed the criminal law. He used a special kind of wooden stick as a torture device, which was called "teaching punishment". In ancient times, teaching punishment was a lighter punishment. Physical punishment and psychological warning were given to those who did not do well in their studies or had general deviant behavior. From the point of view of word meaning, in Shuo Wen Jie Zi, "jump" means a slight blow. The word "Jiao" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the left part symbolizes "the child bends and lies on his father", and the right part symbolizes the appearance of holding a wooden stick. Word-makers say that they use small strokes to teach the meaning of words. Without a little blow, some people will be dissatisfied with filial piety. Li yang explained "change" and said: it has already happened, and it will change with a light blow. Teachers, therefore, teach people to mend their ways. However, without a small blow, it is impossible to achieve results, so teaching cannot be separated from a small blow. [v] It is said that the punishment of slapping is a slap in the face, which is widely used in government, schools and at home.
In a narrow sense, corrective education refers to a systematic probation activity which is carried out purposefully, planned and organized by legal corrective institutions with the purpose of saving, reforming and shaping people, and with the basic activities of changing ideas, correcting bad habits, instilling knowledge, cultivating virtue and enhancing skills. It is a kind of compensatory education measures and activities organized by specialized agencies for criminals, including mental health education measures and activities. It exists in all planned, organized and systematic activities that exert influence on criminals inside and outside the facility. Supervision and reform, collective education, individual guidance, art training, daily behavior development and discipline, psychological guidance and consultation all contain the concept and content of corrective education, which can be regarded as the realization form of corrective education. Corrective education for criminals is aimed at their living environment, living conditions, past failed learning experiences and unhealthy psychology. Under the condition of special monitoring environment and special design, through the joint efforts and interaction between criminals and educators, we can help them get rid of or resist all kinds of incentives that lead to illegal crimes, correct their negative personality and criminal behavior, establish a correct sense of social responsibility and outlook on survival, and take the legal road of self-reliance and self-improvement. In the future, "corrective education" refers to corrective education in a narrow sense.
American Orthopedic Education Association (CEA) is an international academic organization. It represents the interests of educators engaged in corrective work. Her definition of "corrective education" is different from the usual understanding in China. They believe that corrective education is an organized and personalized self-help strategy. Through a series of activities, such as vocational education, imparting knowledge of culture, science and technology, it intervenes in the non-social or anti-social behaviors of students restricted by the criminal justice system, with the aim of cultivating their social attitudes, arming their minds and enabling them to live as community citizens with a sense of social responsibility [vi]. European Prison Education Association (EPEA) is an academic organization that studies prison education in Europe. In the articles of association, she defined "prison education" as: prison education is the education of all people under the supervision of the court system, whether they have been tried or awaiting trial, whether they are serving their sentences in prison or in the community [vii]. These two definitions are not completely consistent with our understanding of corrective education.
In the process of criminal justice in Europe and America, paying attention to the educational choice and educational subject status of the corrected people is related to the understanding of human rights, modern prison duties and the essence of education by European and American people. First of all, in nature, it is considered that corrective education is not a compulsory self-help strategy for prisoners who have completed compulsory education, and they can choose whether to receive education or not. There is a special teacher-student relationship between the object of corrective education and the corrective teacher. However, in our country, because compulsory reform activities are integrated with educational activities in prisons, it is considered that one of the attributes or characteristics of corrective education is compulsory; In content, the corrective education in Britain and America does not include ideological and belief correction, but is carried out through religious probation activities or observing the constitutional principle of freedom of thought and belief. China, on the other hand, has no religious influence and education, and directly instills national ideology or mainstream social culture, believing that people's ideological beliefs should also follow the will of the state; In terms of space, corrective education outside facilities in Europe and America accounts for a certain proportion, while in China, corrective education activities mainly occur in prison facilities, and only a few exist outside facilities, such as community corrective education. In terms of available means, the concept of our country is broader than that of Europe and America, and almost all corrective measures and activities, including management, labor, training, individual conversation and psychotherapy, can be regarded as an integral part of corrective education. Corrective education in Europe and America mainly refers to organized teaching activities.